


Breaking The Cycle

by writerstrash



Series: Raising Peter: Superfamily Oneshots [12]
Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Fatherhood, M/M, Parenthood, Superfamily, Superhusbands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-19
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2020-10-21 18:24:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20698010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writerstrash/pseuds/writerstrash
Summary: A little moment between Tony & Peter.





	Breaking The Cycle

"Really goin' to town on those blueberries, huh, kid?" Tony chuckled, watching as his son shoved another couple of berries into his mouth.

Peter nodded excitedly, juice running down his chin and onto his shirt. Tony knew they wouldn't be going home with clean clothes. Peter was a messy eater on a normal occasion, but coupled with the fact they were sitting outside having a picnic, Peter would need a thorough shower when they got home.

"Yummy," the boy added, reaching for more. "You have some, daddy?" 

"You gonna share with me?"

"Uh huh," Peter nodded, leaning up on his knees to reach his father's mouth.

Tony tried not to laugh at the look of pure focus on Peter's face when he placed three blueberries into his mouth, tapping his cheek when he was finished to signal Tony to start chewing. Peter grinned happily when Tony hummed in satisfaction, nodding his approval.

"Papa likes blueberries too," Tony told his son, pulling out his phone to take a photo of the boy covered in berry juice. "Especially cleaning them out of clothes. How about we send him a photo to show him what he's missing?"

Peter smiled then, giggling wildly as Tony took his photo and sent it off to his husband. Their son was covered head-to-toe in dirt, grass stains, apple juice and an assortment of fruit mush. But he was _happy_. He was feeling exactly how a child should feel. Full of energy and love and spirit. Tony would never let himself get in the way of that, and anyone who wanted to change that for Peter would have to go through him first. 

Peter would never be told to act 'properly' in public. He would never be told to quieten his laughs, to straighten his clothes and keep them tidy and neat for photos. Peter would never know of those fake smiles, the fake love, the fake family that kids were forced into when they were in the public eye. 

No. Peter would be loved and nurtured to be exactly who he wanted to be and walk through dirty puddles and laugh and squeal as loud as he wanted.

_"What's on your shirt?" _

_Tony looked up at his father with wide eyes, knowing he had been caught. He knew he should have ran upstairs and changed before his father walked in the door, but he didn't have enough time. He didn't know Howard was bringing board members over for drinks. _

_"Uh, I was eating some choco-"_

_"What have I told you about how you present yourself?" Howard sighed. "Do you want people to think we aren't clean? That you're allowed to go around wearing dirty clothes?"_

_"N-no," _

_"You stay up in your room, alright?" Howard shook his head. "And put on a clean shirt."_

_"Is mom coming home tonight?" Tony asked queitly, pushing his luck._

_Howard looked at his son, then back to the room full of board members, shifting his attention once again. _

_"Your mother wouldn't want you looking a mess. Go to your room."_

Tony looked back up at his son, his heart aching with just how much he loved him. The idea of making Peter feel ashamed or unwanted made him physically ill, and he couldn't bear the thought of Peter living the childhood he did. The idea of Howard Stark having any control of Peter's upbringing made him shudder.

"Hey Pete," Tony began, gathering the boy's attention. "Can I have a hug?"

Peter never turned down hugs. Not unless he was feeling sick or too tired to move, in which case he always tried his best anyway. The little boy clambered into Tony's lap, wrapping his arms around Tony's neck and shoving his berry-covered shirt into his father's chest.

Tony took a deep breath, holding his son tight and feeling his warmth. He didn't know how he had survived most of his life without Peter. The little boy was his reason for everything these days.

"Do you know how much I love you, kiddo?" he asked.

"Uh, lots and lots?" Peter guessed, pulling back to stretch his arms out. "This much?"

"So much further than that, Pete," 

"Dis much?" Peter asked again, stretching as far he could before falling back off Tony's lap.

"All the way up to space and back again," Tony explained.

"All the way in space?" Peter asked, eyes wide. "You can't reach space, daddy!"

"I can so," Tony argued. "But you know what? I love you even_ further _than space,"

Peter grinned shy, moving back to Tony's chest and cuddling up to him.

"That's a lot," he giggled. "You love me dat much?"

"You bet I do," Tony smiled, pressing a kiss to his son's forehead. "Even when you're covered in berries, kid."

Peter laughed, moving back to plant his sticky hands on either side of Tony's face. 

"I love you dat much too, daddy," he told him softly. "An' I can't get up to space yet, but I promise I do,"

Tony's heart could barely handle this kid. He was so full of love and kindness and curiosity and hope. He was everything Tony thought he wouldn't have. Ten years ago, before Iron Man, before he ever thought he would meet Steve, when he was a selfish womaniser who spent his nights gambling and drinking, the idea of Peter would have reduced him to a heart attack. Either that, or Tony would opt out of having any involvement whatsoever.

His heart hurt to think about Peter growing up without him. Not knowing how much Tony loved him. 

But the fact was that when Tony thought about kids, he thought about trauma. He thought about screwing up, scaring them, being the mirror-image of his own father. He imagined his son would hate him. He imagined coming home smelling like scotch and barely seeing his son, making him feel in the way and unloved. Letting him be raised by a nanny. 

Tony never thought he could do it. But here he was, with Peter so perfect and kind and bright, being the father he wished he had for himself. Peter knew just how loved he was, but Tony always needed to tell him. He never wanted Peter to doubt it.

Peter and Steve were the best things to ever happen to Tony, and they were both things that he couldn't ever imagine for himself until they happened on their own. 

"Daddy?" Peter's soft voice called, pulling Tony from his thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"Can I have some strawberries too?"

Tony looked at the empty containers around them. This kid was a vacuum. An industrial vacuum.

"How did you eat all those blueberries already?" he asked, already knowing that half of them had missed the boy's mouth and squished against his shirt. 

"I shared 'em," Peter answered innocently. "Wanna share strawberries too?"

Tony couldn't hold back his laugh. 

"Sure, let's get your shirt even messier, kid."


End file.
